On Thursday, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York debuted a video-art collection -- crowdsourced from YouTube. It's just one of the surprising new ways today's cultural institutions are embracing tech and social media--from exhibit livestreams to a battle-royale smartphone app. Here's a look at the most interesting tech-driven installations.
(Photo Credit: Design by Jeff Baxter, Courtesy of Google)

Crowdsourcing at the Guggenheim

Developed in collaboration with HP, this crowdsourced video-art exhibit -- available on YouTube and the Guggenheim's website -- drew more than 23,000 submissions from 91 countries. The 20 finalists were announced Thursday and are scheduled to be displayed at Guggenheim museums around the world through Oct. 24.

Live-Tweeting at The Museum of Science and Industry

For the next month, theater artist Kate McGroaty will live in Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry and live-tweet her daily exhibition tours at @msikate. If the contest-winner sticks it out, she’ll get a cool $10,000.

Archiving Tweets at the Library of Congress

Even the book market's downward spiral couldn’t stop the Library of Congress from building its own digital-content archive: In April, the institution acquired -- and began to catalogue -- every public 140-character message. Oh, and just to make sure its cultural cred doesn’t disappear, the Library is now devoting an entire exhibition the original "tweeters": birds and flutes.

Flickr-Streaming at the MoMA

Earlier this year, the Museum of Modern Art in New York live-streamed performance artist Marina Abramovic's hours-long staring contests with visitors, enabling anyone to watch. Photos of the exhibit were also catalogued in a massive Flickr collection, which features the likes of James Franco and Björk.

Open-Sourcing at the Brooklyn Museum

The Brooklyn Museum’s open API -- which enables developers to access its large collection of images and info -- spurred tech innovations such as a materials-based search app for artwork.

Video-Sharing at ArtBabble

ArtBabble aims to be the YouTube of the art world, partnering with more than 20 museums -- including the Art Institute of Chicago and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art -- to offer video content ranging from Renoir painting commentary to a behind-the-scenes glimpse into William Kentridge's studio.

Next-Gen Storytelling at the 9/11 Memorial Museum

Using crowdsourced photos and stories, and tech from Google Maps, the Make History project offers "a collective telling of the events of 9/11 through the eyes of those who experienced it," both near the Towers and around the world. It's available online now, and will later appear in the 9/11 Memorial Museum, scheduled to open next fall on the 10-year anniversary of the attacks.

Mobile Gaming at the Tate Modern

If you've ever wondered what would happen if works of art came to life and had a bloody fight to the death, well...now you can find out: With the Tate Modern's multi-player card game smartphone app, users pit assorted masterpieces against each other, and see which one comes out on top.

Mobile Touring at the Louvre

The Louvre isn't the only museum offering a virtual tour via smartphone app, but its offering is particularly robust: Works such as the Mona Lisa are displayed with historical information, the date they entered the museum, behind-the-scenes video extras, and more. Bonus: the app is free.

Art Smart: 8 Awesome Ways Museums Are Embracing Tech and Social Media

On Thursday, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York debuted a video-art collection — crowdsourced from YouTube. It's just one of the surprising new ways today's cultural institutions are embracing tech and social media—from exhibit livestreams to a battle-royale smartphone app. Here's a look at the most interesting tech-driven installations.